1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air-fuel ratio control device for an internal combustion engine and, more specifically, relates to an air-fuel ratio control device which controls the air-fuel ratio of the engine based on the outputs of air-fuel ratio sensors upstream and downstream of a catalytic converter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Three-way reducing and oxidizing catalytic converters are commonly used to remove pollutants such as NO.sub.x, HC, and CO components in the exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine. Generally, the catalyst used in such converters is able to remove the pollutants from the exhaust gas simultaneously only when the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas is kept in a narrow range near the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio. Therefore, in order to reduce the emission of the exhaust gas, it is important to keep the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas in the region near the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio.
It is known to use an electronic engine control module to control the amount of fuel being injected into an engine. In particular, it is known to use the output of an exhaust gas oxygen (EGO) sensor as part of a feedback control loop to control the air-fuel ratio. Typically, such an EGO sensor is placed upstream of the catalyst which processes the exhaust gases. In some applications, it is known to use a second EGO sensor downstream of the catalyst, partly to serve as a diagnostic measure of catalyst performance. With the presence of EGO sensors both upstream of the catalyst and downstream of the catalyst, it would be desirable to develop an improved feedback air-fuel ratio control system using signals from both of the sensors.
In the double EGO sensor system, the air-fuel ratio control is carried out based on the output of the downstream EGO sensor as well as the upstream EGO sensor. Typically, the air-fuel ratio of the engine is accurately controlled by correcting the output of the upstream EGO sensor based on the output of the downstream EGO sensor. In such a system, however, there exists a delay in the response of the downstream EGO sensor to detect a change in the exhaust gas air-fuel ratio of the engine. This delay is caused by the oxygen storage capacity of the three-way reducing and oxidizing catalyst in the catalytic converter. Thus, the response of the downstream EGO sensor to the change in the air-fuel ratio of the engine becomes slow due to the absorbing and releasing action of the oxygen by the catalyst. Because of this delay in the detection of the air-fuel ratio of the engine by the downstream EGO sensor, it is difficult to compensate the output of the upstream EGO sensor accurately based on the output of the downstream EGO sensor.
Attempts have been made to improve the air-fuel ratio correction capabilities of dual sensor control systems by substantially increasing the proportional feedback gain in the downstream EGO sensor feedback loop. Although this approach provides relatively rapid transient air-fuel ratio correction, it results in undesirable low frequency air-fuel ratio limit-cycle oscillations which reduce overall catalyst efficiency.
An example of this behavior is shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, some time after a lean air-fuel ratio disturbance occurs (at t=10 seconds), the downstream EGO sensor output 10 switches from a rich to a lean indication. The proportional feedback term derived from this change will then command the fuel controller to increase the fuel flow rate by a fixed amount. Because of the time delay associated with the downstream feedback loop (caused primarily by the oxygen storage component in the catalyst), the effect of this command will not be detected by the downstream EGO sensor for a relatively long time. In the meantime, the integral feedback term is slowly, but continuously, increasing the fuel flow rate. After a sufficiently long time delay, the effects of the increased fuel flow will be detected by the downstream EGO sensor, and the sensor output will switch back from lean to rich. In general, however, because of the fixed fuel offset induced by the proportional term, the air-fuel ratio correction will be excessive, and the cycle repeats itself as shown by the low frequency air-fuel ratio oscillations. At the same time, the pre-catalyst or upstream air-fuel ratio 12 oscillates, although at a somewhat higher amplitude.